Toto Wolff explains Kimi Antonelli 'survival lesson' as Mercedes drought ended

Toto Wolff has explained how Mercedes handed Kimi Antonelli a "survival" lesson during the Hungarian Grand Prix. 

Antonelli has had a tricky first half of his rookie season, with the highs of a podium in Canada and sprint pole in Miami countered by typical rookie mistakes and a barren run between Imola and Hungary, only punctuated by his third place in Montreal. 

In Budapest, the Italian finished 10th to claim a seventh points finish from the 14 races, but Wolff has revealed how the team opted to hand Antonelli a "survival" lesson, which will stand him in good stead going forward after scoring points for the first time in four races.

"The car is generally giving him more feedback, and he said that the weekend was transformative from the first [practice] session," Wolff told the media, including RacingNews365.

"Qualifying went wrong, but that happens to a young driver, and [in the race] we were hanging him out there for tyre survival, which is another part of the development which he needs to go through. 

"He got a point, defended against [Isack] Hadjar behind, and I am satisfied with that. Hopefully he is going to get stronger in the second half of the year, but he's on target."

For his part, Antonelli recalled the "tough" lesson he had been handed, but was grateful for it. 

"The race pace has always been strong, and I think it has been my strongest point this year," he said.

"But it was a really good lesson on tyre management as well because I had to manage the tyre, but still keep the pace up.

"I had Hadjar behind and Lewis coming with much fresher tyres, and I still had to keep the pace high to keep them behind. It was tough, but we learned."